Barkov, Rask lead Finland's initial 16-player World Cup roster
In addition to Russia, Team Finland got in on the early morning roster release for the World Cup of Hockey. Check out who made the first cut of team GM Jere Lehtenin and Assistant GM Jarmo Kekalainen.
| Shot | G | A | Pts |
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D Esa Lindell, Texas Stars (AHL) – Dallas Stars hold NHL rights | L | 10 | 22 | 32 |
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D Olli Maatta, Pittsburgh Penguins | L | 6 | 12 | 18 |
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D Rasmus Ristolainen, Buffalo Sabres | R | 8 | 27 | 35 |
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D Sami Vatanen, Anaheim Ducks | R | 9 | 25 | 34 |
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F Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers | L | 19 | 20 | 39 |
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F Teuvo Teravainen, Chicago Blackhawks | L | 10 | 16 | 26 |
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F Joonas Donskoi, San Jose Sharks | R | 10 | 17 | 27 |
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F Mikael Granlund, Minnesota Wild | L | 7 | 26 | 33 |
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F Jori Lehtera, St. Louis Blues | L | 7 | 20 | 27 |
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F Leo Komarov, Toronto Maple Leafs | L | 18 | 17 | 35 |
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F Lauri Korpikoski, Edmonton Oilers | L | 6 | 9 | 15 |
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F Valtteri Filppula, Tampa Bay Lightning | L | 7 | 20 | 27 |
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F Jussi Jokinen, Florida Panthers | L | 11 | 33 | 44 |
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F Mikko Koivu, Minnesota Wild | L | 13 | 30 | 43 |
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| GP | W | L | OT | GAA | SV% |
G Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins | 49 | 25 | 18 | 5 | 2.53 | 0.918 |
G Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators | 52 | 25 | 18 | 9 | 2.40 | 0.910 |
Here's the Finnish jersey:
The finest Finnish hockey players will be rocking these uniforms by @adidas for the #WCH2016. pic.twitter.com/UPjjC7JYeg
— NHL (@NHL) March 2, 2016
A few things that stand out about the Finnish team:
-- The defensive group is YOUNG. Sami Vatanen is the elder statesman of the squad at the ripe old age of 24. The other three players are 21.
-- Barkov will be relied on heavily to score goals for this team. The team is full of playmakers, but they're missing a pure goal scorer. Barkov and Komarov are as close as they'll get unless they look to the depth within the Finnish system. Perhaps management will add some of the players from their gold medal winning World Junior team like Kasperi Kapanen, Patrik Laine, and/or Mikko Rantanen (who is tearing up the AHL right now).
-- All but one of the Finnish forwards are left handed shots.
-- Teemu Selanne is on the Finnish team ... as an "Advisor to Team Management." He seems to be enjoying retirement; however, we wouldn't be entirely shocked to see him added to the final roster on June 1. It's Teemu! He can do what he wants.
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Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @MsJenNeale_PD.
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